Movie Thoughts: Kung Fu Panda (2008)

• Released: June 6, 2008
  
• Directed by: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson 
• Running time: 1 h 32 min
• Rating 4.5/5

Synopsis

A clumsy panda who loves to eat is unexpectedly chosen to be the Dragon Warrios, a legendary kung fu fighter who will defeat the villainous snow leopard Tai Lung.

My Thoughts

A title like Kung Fu Panda doesn't sound very promising, huh? But somehow this movie, despite how goofy it looks at first sight, is just incredibly good. Dreamworks is often said to have two amazing trilogies: How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda. And I totally agree, they are both amazing. Heck, I personally like the Panda trilogy a bit more than the Dragon one, even.

The story is a bit predictable, essentially being just another chosen one plot, but the execution is so phenomenal. And the whole theme of learning to find value in yourself...it's wonderful.

The characters are also pretty great. I love Po, I love Tigress, I love Shifu, I love the epic villain Tai Lung. Heck, even some of the characters with less screentime such as Po's goose dad have some good moments. And Oogway is great as well.

The animation is great. The style the movie goes for is more cartoon-y and stylized, but it looks great. And of course the sequence where Po finally masters kung fu is beautiful. Yet another strong aspect of this trilogy is that it isn't afraid to get experimental and artsy in certain sequences. I also like the interspersed 2D animation sequences (usually dreams) that persist in all three movies.

I know this is a short one, but I don't really have any criticisms here. It's just a fantastic movie I absolutely recommend. And to think the sequel is even better...